Common Egg Donor Disqualifiers

For many women aged 19 to 34, becoming an egg donor is an incredibly selfless (and generous!) way to help an infertile or LGBT person complete their family.

Despite their good intentions, not everyone qualifies to be a Nurture Egg Donor. The requirements are such to ensure the ultimate health & wellbeing of the donor, good egg quality, and to give our recipients the very best chance of having a baby (finally!)

We believe highlighting the potential disqualifiers is important because we value the time and energy of every applicant.

Outside of the basic criteria to be met, factors that would exclude one from being able to donate are:

Commitment – Becoming an egg donor requires 100% commitment to attend all of your clinic appointments, timeously. Egg donors need to be dependable, mature and 100% reliable. If your schedule will not allow for the required appointments during regular office hours (8am – 5pm, Mon – Fri) then you will not be able to become a donor. Unfortunately it is not enough to WANT to be an egg donor, you need to be ABLE to commit to the process, which includes attending all your appointments.

Transport – It is of vital importance that you are able to get to all your appointments on time. Donors without transport or without access to public transport will not be able to donate. You will need to commit to approximately seven appointments at the fertility clinic (over a 2-3 month period). Please note that these appointments will happen during working hours and cannot happen after hours or on Saturdays/Sundays. It is very important that you can commit to the time required and that you are able to travel to and from the clinic to attend these appointments. Getting to / from the clinic appointments is your responsibility and part of your commitment to being an egg donor. Nurture will ONLY assist donors with travel fees if they are more than 100km away from the clinic they are donating at. This special travel fee is over and above the R7,000 donation fee that is paid to you by the clinic that you will be donating at, and will only be paid to you within 48 hours of your retrieval. i.e. You need to have the means / funds to get to / from all your clinic appointments.

Without Email – Nurture uses a world class system to track and manage our egg donor cycles. We communicate with you throughout the process via email. Those without a working email address will not be able to donate.

Maximum Number of Donations – The South African guidelines state that a donor may donate six times or six live births (whichever comes first). Those who have met the maximum threshold will not be able to donate again.

Previously Declined – Those who have previously applied through another agency or clinic and been declined (for medical reasons or other) will not be able to donate. All agencies work with the same fertility clinics in SA, your history is on central record.

HIV – women who are HIV positive may not donate.

Breastfeeding – you may not donate until you’ve finished breastfeeding entirely and have regular periods again (a minimum of 2 consecutive months). The reasoning behind this is that hormone levels are not suitable to donate while you are breastfeeding. Also, the hormones (from the fertility meds) would be passed onto your child.

Medical Conditions – If you or your immediate family suffers from one of these serious medical conditions, you might not be able to donate. Likewise, being on certain medications would exclude you from being able to donate. Please check with the Nurture team (info@nurture.co.za)before completing the application form.

Mental ‘Illness’ – This applies to those who (or any of their immediate family) have been formally diagnosed by a medical professional as suffering from any of these serious mental disorders: bipolar / schizophrenia / other serious mental disorders. This includes those with a history of depression who currently take two or more psychiatric drugs.

Inheritable genetic disorders – As an egg donor, your genetic history is of great concern to prospective parents. Any inheritable genetic condition will disqualify you from reputable egg donor programs. If you are unsure about a family condition, we recommend that you contact us at info@nurture.co.za with questions prior to completing your application.

Recreational Drugs – Our egg donation program does not permit women who use recreational drugs. Drugs have a negative effect on egg quality. We will also not accept women with a history of substance abuse.

If you suspect that you may have a condition / are on medication that could impact a potential donation please get in touch with us before applying at info@nurture.co.za and we will clarify with the medical panel.

We encourage those interested in learning more about egg donation to read about the process here.